New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Buddy `` Cake Boss '' Valastro 's gastronomical gifts were of little help when his 32-foot Boston Whaler got lost in heavy fog in New York Harbor .

`` People were scared , '' Valastro told CNN of the harrowing journey Friday night with his wife , another couple and nine young children . `` I did n't know which way to look -- left , right . I could n't even see in front of me . ''

Both New York fire and police department units located and safely towed Valastro 's boat to Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City , New Jersey , NYPD Sgt. Carlos Nieves said . The vessel typically docks at Liberty Landing , which sits on the other side of the Hudson River from New York City and not far from the Statue of Liberty .

Police said authorities received an emergency call about 9:30 p.m. : A boat was stranded and its captain disoriented just south of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge .

The vessel was lost in thick fog in Ambrose Channel , a busy shipping channel that put it in danger of colliding with large commercial ships , police said . Valastro said they were lost about 20 minutes before he called for help .

The ordeal started about 8:30 p.m. after Valastro and his friends had dinner in Highlands , New Jersey , and were taking the boat back home .

`` I ca n't see the city , '' said Valastro , who had owned a boat for about six years . `` I 'm thinking it 's dark ... We wind up going into this deep , deep fog where you could n't see 10 feet in front of you . We started to get really scared . ''

At one point , Valastro said , a bigger vessel about 30 feet away was headed straight for his boat .

`` I saw him but I do n't think he saw us , '' he recalled . `` We had to get out of the way ... I turned quick . It got really , really scary . I said , ' You know , it 's time to call for help . ''

The boat moved slowly in the dense fog , he said . The children cried . Some were seasick and vomited overboard .

`` My wife was flipping , '' he said . `` I could n't pick a worse bunch of people to be on the boat stuck in the fog with . All the kids were under 10 years old ... then my wife and my friend 's wife and my friend ... After we got rescued , we started joking and having some fun . But it was no joke . ''

Nieves said police inspected the boat and found no alcohol on board or equipment violations . Valastro showed no signs of impairment , police said .

Valastro said a fire department vessel responded about 10 minutes after his distress call , followed later by a police boat .

`` I want to bake them a cake , '' he said . `` I want to do something good for them . They did n't even realize who I was until the end . It was all business . I 'm not the kind of guy to say , ` I 'm the Cake Boss . The Cake Boss in distress . May Day . ''

Valastro , who starred on the hit TLC show `` Cake Boss , '' now appears in the competition series `` Next Great Baker '' on Tuesdays . A fourth-generation baker , he runs Carlo 's Bake Shop in Hoboken , New Jersey .

After Friday 's odyssey , the Cake Boss tweeted : `` Next time we go out at night need to check the forecast #mywifewantstokillme '' .

2 tread water for 14 hours off Florida coast until chance rescue

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Buddy `` Cake Boss '' Valastro , his wife and friends were rescued after his boat was stranded

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New York fire and police department units located and towed Valastro 's boat to safety

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At one point , Valastro said , a bigger vessel about 30 feet away was headed straight for his boat

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Valastro : `` I could n't even see in front of me ''